
In its thirteenth year, the Mumbai Gallery Weekend is the largest ever coordinated art event in the city. Taking place over four days from January 9 till January 12, at over 30 leading art galleries across the city, there's a lot to see and do this year. From a conversation with polymathic duo Doyel Joshi and Neil Ghose Balser at APRE Art House to an exciting solo debut at Chemould CoLab, here are the MGW exhibitions you must not miss:
Ephemerides is an exploration of the transient nature of existence, capturing the fleeting moments that define human experience. Inspired by the concept of ephemerality, the artists featured in 'Ephemerides' collectively delve into the delicate balance between permanence and impermanence, echoing the philosophical musings of Heraclitus, who posited that "everything flows, nothing stands still".
On Friday, January 10, artists Doyel Joshi and Neil Ghose Balser will be in conversation and discuss the essence of ephemerality in contemporary art as part of the exhibition.
Ephemerides is on view at APRE Art House from January 9 till February 7. Learn more about the exhibition here.
On The Cusp Of The Eighth Day, the first solo exhibition of Aravani Art Project, opens at Gallery XXL on January 9. The exhibition celebrates 9 years of the trans and cis women artists' collective's practice and praxis with canvases, photographs, testimonies, and narratives that work towards bringing down severe discrimination, social stigma, and systemic inequality faced by the Transgender Community in India through the medium of art as its vehicle, voice, and tool to create a space for intersectional voices in the society.
There will be a panel discussion with Aravani Art Project on January 11, and a painting workshop facilitated by artists of Aravani Art Project on January 12 at Gallery XXL as part of the exhibition.
On The Cusp Of The Eighth Day is on view at Gallery XXL from January 9 till February 28.
Exhale, Christopher Kulendran Thomas' first solo exhibition in India, is on view at Experimenter — Colaba until February 22. Thomas is a Sri Lankan-born artist of Tamil descent who spent his formative years in London after his family left Sri Lanka during the escalating ethnic oppression against the Tamil community in the country. Thomas' paintings blur the line between human instinct and machine processes, using generative AI to "unpick the systems that underpin value and beliefs in cosmopolitan centres of power".
Learn more about the artist and the exhibition here.
Grounded, a solo exhibition of new prints by Soghra Khurasani, is on view at TARQ till February 15. This new body of prints mark a transformative phase in Khurasani's life and practice, building on her ongoing reflections on the relationship between the self and nature. This series is a meditation on the interconnectedness of all living things, underscoring the idea that, despite the inequalities and greed that may divide us, the Earth remains our shared home, and we are grounded to it, to remain.
Learn more about the artist and the exhibition here.
Making and Wonder, curated by Kaiwan Mehta, is an exhibition that explores the journeys of making and the world of wonder between civilisation and the contemporary, between business and art, between life and lifestyle. The show highlights the language of aesthetics that defines contemporary design and the making of that language.
Learn more about the exhibition here.
Chants from the Hollow, Shailee Mehta's debut solo show, is on view at Chemould CoLab till February 22. An alumni of Chemould CoLab's Summer 2024 residency, Mehta's practice is informed deeply by the interstices and indisputable beauty that shape both the human body and the land those bodies occupy. In rendering the body, Mehta distills the immediacy of her encounters, representing the feminine in agile and agential forms. The artist will be present at the exhibition during the weekend.
Follow the artist here.
The sequel to Off Margins: Miniatures in Postmodern, this group exhibition curated by Khushboo Jain explores the evolution and implications of the miniature in contemporary Indian art and how artists engage with the ever-evolving interplay between landscapes and human experiences through the miniature form in their practice. The show is on view at Art + Charlie till February 16.
The Future Of Indian Art
"Unlike the grandeur of Delhi's India Art Fair or the coastal charm of Kochi-Muziris Biennale, this event (Mumbai Gallery Weekend) thrives on intimacy and immediacy," my colleague Anahita Ahluwalia writes in her article about MGW 2025. "These spaces pulse with energy, introducing audiences to emerging talent and challenging conventions. Art feels less like an untouchable relic and more like a living, breathing conversation".
Read her article about how Mumbai Gallery Weekend embodies and encapsulates the future of Indian art here:
An Artistic Chronicle Of Mumbai Over Two Centuries
"DAG’s upcoming showcase, 'Once Upon a Time in Bombay', takes us on a journey (...) It unravels the tale of Mumbai’s metamorphosis through a collection of artworks that spotlight its layered history. The city’s vibrant street life, colonial-era grandeur, and the understated beauty of its hinterlands, all come alive in this captivating showcase," my colleague Disha Bijolia writes in her coverage of DAG 1's Once Upon a Time in Bombay.
Read her article about the exhibition here:
Learn more about Mumbai Gallery Weekend 2025 here.
Find your way to these events and exhibitions below: